If You Can Only Have One Car: 2013 Volkswagen GTI Mk7
I made the mistake of watching a video about a new car the other day…yeah…I know…I’m not supposed to like new stuff because new stuff is lame, but I watched some faceless German guy go 153 mph on the autobahn in a Mk 8 GTI and I thought to myself…they’ve made something past the Mk 6 Golf…have I been in a coma? Ouch. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, but apparently Volkswagen has been upgrading their models and from 2012 through 2019 they made the Mk 7 Golf and today we’ve got a 230 horsepower GTI model with an APR tune that should be good for 261 horsepower and 317 ft-lbs of torque. Find this 2013 Volkswagen GTI offered for $12000 in SF Bay Area, CA via craigslist.
I like to the think of the GTI as the best car to buy if you can only have one car. Personally, I prefer to have a fleet of cars — a daily driver sports car, a classic with manual gearbox, a family hauler, a hatchback for junkyard runs…but if you can only have one car, the GTI is probably the best compromise and combines parts of all those cars into a tidy package. If you don’t think a Mk 7 Golf GTI is the best hot hatch ever made, just listen to Jeremy Clarkson; it’s a wonderful car. It’s equipped like a Bentley, it goes like a Ferrari and in traffic, because it’s just a Golf and it’s grey, no one takes my picture.
From the seller:
2013 vw gti
fuel: gas
odometer: 83000
title status: clean
transmission: manual
VW GTI 2013 – TUNEDManual Transmission
More Photos Available Upon Request
No major issues currently known. 1-2 minor dents.
APR Tune tied to VIN
Comes with cold air intake (not currently in vehicle, replaced with stock cooler so smog can be passed). Extra stock rim. Other modifications made by previous owner.
Drives Great.
3rd Owner.
See a better way to drive the car of the century? tips@dailyturismo.com
Perfect description — if you can only have one car make it a Mk7 GTI. I owned one for two years and I still miss it. Perfect driver’s car and no compromises for the utility it also offers. It is a front-drive turbocharged car so it doesn’t drive the same way a true sports car does but for those of us living in cold climates a FWD car has a lot of benefits.
Why do I keep agreeing with you? Came here to agree with Vince.
I have a large diesel wagon with a stick and two fancy turbos. Europe FTW. The other thing I would buy today if the leash were long enough is a Toyota GT86, for the non-turbo, petrol, fun of it all. But if you squoosh those together, I think we can all agree you get the above.
Great minds must think alike. In the past week my 18yo son and I have test driven a 2007 335i twin-turbo 6 speed coupe and an e39 manual-swapped Touring. Sadly the 86s haven’t fallen into our sub-$10k price range (unless they are salvage title listings and do not even GET me started on those sellers).